Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (Peru) Term of Office: 1982-1991
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar assumed office as Secretary-General of the United Nations on 1 January 1982 and served two terms, until 31 December 1991.
Mr. Pérez de Cuéllar was born in Lima, Peru, on 19 January 1920. He was a lawyer and a career diplomat. He joined the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1940 and the diplomatic service in 1944. Mr. Pérez de Cuéllar was Ambassador of Peru to Switzerland, the Soviet Union, Poland, and Venezuela.
He was a member of the Peruvian delegation to the General Assembly at its first session in 1946 and a member of the delegations to the twenty-fifth to thirtieth sessions of the Assembly. In 1971, he was appointed Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations, and he led his country's delegation to all sessions of the Assembly from then until 1975.
Mr. Pérez de Cuéllar died on 4 March 2020, in Lima, Peru, at the age of 100.